Toronto, Feb 5, 2022 – A report surges from 2012 research indicates a new Covid variant with fatality rate up to 20-30 per cent. The virus can get transmitted to humans either directly or via an intermediate host.
It has been known for decades that seven coronaviruses infect humans and cause respiratory illness. Four of them cause mild upper respiratory tract infections. Prior to the current pandemic, there were two examples of coronavirus causing major illness and death. In 2002, the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic was widespread, and in 2012, the MERS CoV-induced MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic occurred. The origin of most coronaviruses in nature can be traced back to bats, but some are from rodents.
Infection with the SARS coronavirus (SARSCoV) can cause severe viral respiratory illness. SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003, after which cases were followed until November 2002. SARS spread rapidly to 26 countries before being contained about four months later. More than 8,000 people were infected with SARS and 774 died. No cases of SARS have been reported since 2004. According to the World Health Organization,
MERS is a viral respiratory disease that was first reported in Saudi Arabia in September 2012 and has since spread to 27 countries. Some people infected with the MERS coronavirus (MERSCoV) develop severe acute respiratory illnesses such as fever, cough, and shortness of breath.
The current COVID 19 pandemic triggered by SARSCoV2 began in 2019 and struck almost every country in the world in the form of multiple waves, resulting in death, disability and the collapse of the healthcare system. SARSCoV2 is the seventh coronavirus known to infect humans.
Mutations are an integral part of the viral life cycle. They manifest with the purpose of prolonging the survival of the virus by avoiding immune attacks or increasing infectivity and virulence. Mutation persistence usually occurs when natural selection results in significant survival benefits.
The COVID19 pandemic witnessed the development and production of multiple vaccines at unimaginable rates on an unprecedented scale.
Therefore, current vaccines are less effective against Omicron, but booster doses improve immunity to it. Regular booster immunisation seems to be the answer to the subspecies problem, unless the virus is gone or new vaccines are created that can provide lasting immunity across all variants. However the government vaccine mandates later on have stirred up a significant civil unrest amongst North America and European countries.
